On 50th National Day Of Mourning, Indigenous People In Plymouth Say They're Still Fighting

Marchers at the 50th National Day of Mourning in Plymouth (Quincy Walters/WBUR)

Hundreds of people gathered in the rain and wind in Plymouth on Thursday to observe the 50th National Day of Mourning. The annual tradition began in order to give Native Americans an opportunity to speak on a holiday they say often negates their experiences.

This year, the message was one of continuation: Native Americans are still being lied to, they say, and their lands are still being violated. People from tribes in New York, Louisiana, Canada and Mexico spoke out against pipelines, dams and hydropower stations.

“I have witnessed islands disappear, lands disappear. I have witnessed our lands get really, really dirty,” said Carlton Richards of the Cross Lake First Nation in Canada.

Richards said the pursuit of alternative energies threatens his peoples' way of life.